Waukesha, WI July 17, 2002 Logistics solution provider RedPrairie Corp. (formerly McHugh Software International) has released version 6.1 of its DLx Labor software as part of a broader enhancement of its productivity management solution.
RedPrairie said the 6.1 release of DLx Labor includes integration to voice recognition systems for hands-free, eyes-free capture of assignment completion times and real-time feedback to users and management on performance metrics. This approach streamlines the fulfillment process and increases labor productivity, driving greater operational efficiency and cost savings, the solution providers asserts.
"Labor expense represents 50 to 65 percent of the operational costs of most warehouses and distribution centers," said John Jazwiec, RedPrairie's company results leader. "Despite the advantages of material handling and warehouse management system automation, these costs continue to rise due to the proliferation of value-added services, light manufacturing and other non-standard distribution functions. The integration of hands-free voice recognition with our industry-leading productivity management solution provides a powerful means for reducing these costs and improving labor productivity in many distribution applications."
The first application of the voice recognition technology will be the integration of Vocollect's Talkman system for one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in North America, whom the two providers declined to name.
"The combination of Vocollect's Talkman system with RedPrairie's productivity management solution makes labor data collection much simpler and more efficient, especially for these multiple site implementations," said Jack LeVan, Vocollect's president and CEO. LeVan predicted that this grocery customers would see picking accuracy improve to up to 99.99 percent and productivity increase by 15 percent or more.
The new DLx Labor release also contains a standard interface to DLx Scorecard, RedPrairie's online supply chain analytics and performance management system. This can enable companies to track and analyze performance metrics such as direct labor hours, indirect labor hours and travel times across multiple facilities in near real time to identify performance problems and take corrective action before they adversely impact efficiency and customer service.
"The combination of real-time capabilities for performance feedback and scorecarding will move customers another step closer to the much sought after real-time enterprise," commented Mike Schoenfeld, RedPrairie productivity management results leader. "These new capabilities allow customers to gain better understanding of logistics cost drivers and performance through activity-based costing analysis and the ability to immediately analyze a wide range of productivity data across their distribution network."
Other enhancements in the 6.1 releases include streamlined authorization maintenance for maintaining users, roles and menu options, improved warehouse mapping and assignment handling, and a more flexible reporting engine.
